Lafayette

Lafayette is named after Marquis de Lafayette. Little is known about early settlements or if the area had a different name prior to European colonization.

The Attakapas Native Americans inhabited this area at the time of the first European encounter. French colonists founded the first European settlement, Petit Manchac, a trading post along the Vermilion River. In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, numerous Acadian refugees settled in this area, after being expelled from Canada after Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years’ War. They intermarried with other settlers, forming what became known as Cajun culture, which maintained use of the French language and adherence to the Roman Catholic Church.

Jean Mouton, an Acadian settler, donated land to the Catholic Church for construction of a small Catholic chapel at this site. In 1824, this area was selected for the Lafayette Parish seat and was named Vermilionville, for its location on the river. In 1836, the Louisiana Legislature approved its incorporation.

The area was initially developed by Europeans for agriculture, primarily sugar plantations, which depended on the labor of numerous enslaved Africans and African Americans. They made up a large percentage of the antebellum population. According to U.S. Census data in 1830, some 41% of the population of Lafayette Parish was enslaved. By 1860, the enslaved population had increased to 49.6%. Some free people of color lived in Lafayette Parish, as well; they made up 3%, to a low of 2.4% between 1830 and 1860.[citation needed]

In 1884, Vermilionville was renamed for General Lafayette, a French aristocrat who had fought with and significantly aided the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The city and parish economy continued to be based on agriculture into the early 20th century. After the Civil War, most of the labor was done by freedmen, who worked as sharecroppers. From the 1930s, mechanization of agriculture began to reduce the need for farm workers.

In the 1940s, after oil was discovered in the parish, the petroleum and natural gas industries expanded to dominate the economy.

Lafayette is considered to be the center of Acadiana, the area of Cajun culture in the state. It is also a center of Louisiana Creole culture. The Cajun culture developed among settlers here over the decades and centuries following the relocation of Acadians after their expulsion by the British. A strong Louisiana Creole influence also is in the area, as this mixed-race population became landowners and businesspeople.

Public schools
The public schools in the parish are run by the Lafayette Parish School System (LPSS). The system has 45 schools: 25 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and eight high schools. The LPSS offers nine career academies at the high-school level, school curricula designed to prepare students in certain career fields.

Private schools
Lafayette is home to a large Roman Catholic population. They support many private parochial schools, including kindergarten through 12th grade.

Universities and colleges
Lafayette has one university, one community college, and two vocational colleges.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is part of the University of Louisiana System. It is a national research institution, home to more than 18,000 students, over 100 programs, and home of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. It is the second-largest university in the state. Schools and colleges related to the institution have been located in Lafayette since 1898.

One of the newest college systems in Louisiana, South Louisiana Community College (SLCC), is headquartered in Lafayette. SLCC partnered with Acadian Ambulance to form the National EMS Academy, which offers EMT-Basic and EMT-Paramedic certification. SLCC is part of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. Louisiana Technical College (Lafayette campus) is part of the Louisiana Technical College System, which in turn is part of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. It offers associate degrees in several fields. is a vocational school that offers a few bachelor’s-degree programs, many associate-degree programs, and a few diploma programs.

It is also home to the Lafayette campus of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, a technical college that specializes in video game programming, art and animation, and SFX.

Healthcare
Lafayette’s major healthcare facilities are:

• Lafayette General Medical Center
• Lafayette General Surgical Hospital
• Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital
• University Hospital and Clinics (formerly University Medical Center, and now part of the LGH system)- As of October 1, 2020 University Hospitals and
• Clinics merged with Ochsner Medical Center to become Ochsner University Hospitals and Clinics.
• Women’s and Children’s Hospital
• Lafayette General Orthopaedic Hospital (formerly the Regional Medical Center of Acadiana)
• Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center
• Heart Hospital of Lafayette
• Park Place Surgical Hospital
• Cardiovascular Institute of the South

Electricity, water, and waste water
Lafayette is served by Lafayette Utilities System (LUS), a city-parish government-run, publicly owned utility company. This water and electricity utility was created in 1897.

Both electricity and water services have been continuously provided by LUS to the residents of the City of Lafayette since that time. LUS has expanded to provide electricity, drinking water, and sewage treatment throughout the City of Lafayette, and to some unincorporated parts of Lafayette Parish. LUS also provides bulk sales to the water systems of most surrounding municipalities.

In 2009, LUS installed infrastructure for a fiber telecommunications network. Called LUSFiber, the network provides digital cable, telephone service, and high-speed internet to all households in Lafayette.

Natural gas
Natural gas service is supplied by Atmos Energy.

Telephone
Local land-line telephone service is provided by AT&T. Cox Communications and LUS Fiber provide Voice over Internet Protocol phone service.

Television
Cable television service in Lafayette is provided by Cox Communications. LUS provides FTTH video services through LUSFiber. DirecTV and Dish Network both include Lafayette TV stations in their local packages

Cultural organizations include the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music, Chorale Acadienne, Lafayette Ballet Theatre and Dance Conservatory, the Lafayette Concert Band, and Performing Arts Society of Acadiana; as well as the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum and the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

The 2018 television film, The Christmas Contract, set in Lafayette, features many Cajun Christmas customs. In the story line, Jolie Guidry (Hilarie Burton) dreads returning to her home town when she learns that her former boyfriend, Foster Broussard (Hunter Burke) will be present at social gatherings with his new love interest. Jolie persuades Jack (Robert Buckley) to be her “contracted” escort in Lafayette. Then romance blossoms between Jolie and Jack. Bruce Boxleitner plays Jolie’s father, Tim.

Lafayette is home to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is home to the Bayou Hurricanes, a semiprofessional football team that plays at Clark Field. Between 1995 and 2005, Lafayette was home to the Louisiana IceGators ECHL hockey team. In 2009, the IceGators returned as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League until 2016. Also from 2009 to 2012, Lafayette was home to the Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League. It is also home to the Lafayette Bayou Bulls, a semipro football program started in 2003. Lafayette is also home to the Acadiana Cane Cutters, a summer-league baseball team. The team plays its games at Fabacher Field and is a member of the Texas Collegiate League. The Lafayette SwampCats (1997–1999) and Lafayette Swamp Cats (2000–2004) soccer teams played in the city. The Cajun Soccer Club of the Gulf Coast Premier League was founded in 2013. The Acadiana Rollergirls of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association is a roller derby league in Lafayette.

The Lafayette area is home to multiple sports venues: Blackham Coliseum, Cajundome, Cajun Field, Earl K. Long Gymnasium, Evangeline Downs, and Planet Ice Skating and Hockey Arena.

Lafayette was home to minor-league baseball teams in various seasons from 1907 to 2000. Lafayette was an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns 1936–1941, Chicago Cubs (1955-1957) and San Francisco Giants (1975-1976). The Lafayette Browns (1907), Lafayette Hubs (1920), Lafayette White Sox (1934-1942), Lafayette Bulls (1948-1953), Lafayette Oilers (1954-1957), Lafayette Drillers (1975-1976) and Bayou Bullfrogs (1998-2000) all played in Lafayette. The teams were members of the Gulf Coast League (1907), Louisiana State League (1920), Evangeline League (1934-1942, 1948–1953, 1954-1957), Texas League (1975-1976) and Texas-Louisiana League (1998-2000). Lafayette teams played at Parkdale Park (1934-1942), Clark Field (1945-1957, 1975-1976) and Tigue Moore Field (1998-2000).

• Acadiana Center for the Arts
• Acadian Village is a reconstructed Cajun bayou community (of moved and reassembled authentic buildings) and has a representative collection of Cajun furnishings.
• Alexandre Mouton House Museum – a historic house museum, the home of Louisiana’s first Democratic governor, Alexandre Mouton; contains a collection of antiques, historical documents, and old Mardi Gras costumes
• Borden’s Ice Cream – the last Borden’s Ice Cream location in the United States
• Caillouet House
• Children’s Museum of Acadiana
• Cité des Arts
• Cypress Lake is a two-acre swamp-like lake in the heart of the UL campus that is a unique university landmark and a habitat for native irises, alligators, turtles, birds and fish, as well as a hangout for students and a point of interest for tourists visiting the city.
• Downtown Lafayette
• Girard Park
• Heymann Center – performing arts center
• Acadian Cultural Center of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
• Katog Choling Tibetan Cultural Center
• Lafayette Natural History Museum & Planetarium
• Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) – a 70,000-square-foot facility at the Research Park; owns the world’s first six-sided, digital virtual reality cube as well as the world’s largest digital 3-D auditorium
• Mouton Plantation Bed and Breakfast – originally built by Governor Charles Mouton (1797-1848), son of Lafayette’s founder, Jean Mouton (1754-1834)
• Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
• Vermilionville Historic Village – one of the world’s largest Cajun and Creole living history museums, with seven restored historic structures from the 1765–1890 era
• Zoosiana – located nearby in Broussard

• Cajun Heartland State Fair – an eleven-day state fair held on the grounds of the Cajundome and Convention Center
• Festivals Acadiens et Creoles – an annual collection of festivals celebrating Cajun and Creole cultures
• Festival International de Louisiane – an annual international festival of arts and music, celebrating Lafayette and the surrounding area’s French heritage
• Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette – the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana